Helping Hands and Holiday Heroes
Following a series of lessons about heroes, 4th graders at the new Richard J. Lee Elementary School were asked how they could be heroes. They responded with an offer to help the less fortunate by championing Lee’s support of the Coppell Lions Club’s Holiday Food and Toy Drive. Cassie Knight, one of the 4th grade teachers, commented, “I am so proud of how our students took these lessons to heart. My hope is that ‘holiday heroes' will become an annual tradition here at Lee.”
There was a different twist in the lessons that unfolded at Valley Ranch Elementary School. The sequence of lessons began with 1st graders getting stockings with varying contents and discussing how it felt to see others receive more. Next they explored the differences between wants and needs. During a visit by Ed Darling who chaired the Lions Club’s holiday food and toy drive this year, they explored both the mechanisms of and the spirit behind the annual food and toy drive. The students responded to Lion Ed’s request for help by championing the food and toy drive at their school. Not only did they promote and manage the successful drive, they decorated many of the boxes with colorful slogans reflecting their “helping hands” theme.
At Denton Creek Elementary School the students used the information gathered from the Lions Club visit to energize their competitive spirits. The 4th graders championed the food drive, and 5th graders headed up the toy drive. They tracked donations on a massive mural with “The Giving Tree” and the caption, “We CAN Help Others!”
By far the warmest reception the Lions received was at Wilson Elementary School. The 3rd grade students had determined that they could have a positive impact on their community by making blankets for the needy. The learnings unfolded as they researched how to make blankets, determined the quantities of materials required and calculated the cost. Fund raising efforts to pay for the materials included a presentation to their PTO for support, solicitations to families and friends, and the sale of jean passes. Next was the physical construction of the blankets. Through their determined efforts, they crafted 87 colorful blankets that they wanted to go to needy kids in our area via the Lions Club.
But the Wilson 3rd graders were not done. They also decided to spearhead a food drive at their school. Oh boy, did their passion pay off! In addition to the blankets, they collected more than 2,000 cans of food! To cap it off, they planned a special presentation ceremony for the Lions Club and invited their families. In their presentation they displayed their handiwork and recapped their journey of service to others. After the resounding applause, they helped load up the blankets.
Lion Bill Smothermon, who chaired the drive for 25 years, had this to say, “It is so wonderful to see how the community comes together to share compassion for one another. What was extra special about this year’s drive was the extent to which Lion Club members were invited to engage with the students in the process.”
Overall support for this year’s drive was inspiring. The participating schools collected more than 4,600 pounds of canned food to which the Lions Club added 2,900 pounds more with turkeys, flour, sugar and potatoes from Kroger, bringing the food total to almost 4 tons! The schools, including Stringfellow School, also donated enough toys to bring huge smiles on the faces of over 300 children in the 107 families nominated to receive support. The 87 blankets from Wilson provided warmth for each of the kids in those families less than 7 years of age. And, partners at RE/MAX DFW Associates provided gifts cards for the older kids and families with special needs.
Remarked Lion Ed Darling, “What a wonderful experience is has been to see members of our community of all ages come together in the spirit of giving to make the holidays a little brighter for our neighbors. A big THANK YOU to everyone who helped!”